Milwaukee County, Wisconsin: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Wisconsin by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 93 deaths in 84 fatal crashes in Milwaukee County in 2024.

FARS records 861 deaths in 780 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 9.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Wisconsin in the same years is 10.2.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Milwaukee County was number 1 of 72 counties of Wisconsin.

Deaths in Milwaukee County rose by 54.6% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (557) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (861).

In the counties of Wisconsin the deaths fell by 5.1% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 0.4% of the fatal crashes in Milwaukee County with a known setting were rural, against 62.5% in Wisconsin.

To qualify as a FARS case, the crash had to involve a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and must have resulted in the death of a motorist or a non-motorist within 30 days of the crash.
The set of first files, known as the Annual Report File (ARF), is released following the crash year. The ARF is replaced about a year later with a final file, which contains additional cases or updates to cases that had become available after the ARF was released.
NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

This page rests on the FARS 2024 annual file. NHTSA released it on 1 Apr 2026. NHTSA can revise the counts in the final file. Release dates

Figure 1.Deaths in Milwaukee County by year, 2015 to 2024

100

108

Table 1 has the numbers. Go to the table

Since the last update: no figure of this county has a change on record.

Deaths and fatal crashes by year

Table 1.Milwaukee County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	93	84	24
2023	92	83	14
2022	108	98	15
2021	85	80	10
2020	100	89	17
2019	74	67	18
2018	68	61	20
2017	86	80	20
2016	74	62	16
2015	81	76	24
2015 to 2024	861	780	178

Each year from 1975

Figure 2.Deaths in Milwaukee County by year, 1975 to 2024

Tallest column: 117 (1975)2024: 93

The columns with a stronger shade are the years 2015 to 2024.

Table 2.Milwaukee County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	93	84
2023	92	83
2022	108	98
2021	85	80
2020	100	89
2019	74	67
2018	68	61
2017	86	80
2016	74	62
2015	81	76
2014	66	62
2013	46	44
2012	60	55
2011	49	46
2010	68	63
2009	45	42
2008	47	46
2007	58	54
2006	61	55
2005	57	47
2004	72	69
2003	57	51
2002	51	50
2001	43	41
2000	53	52
1999	45	43
1998	51	48
1997	58	57
1996	53	46
1995	64	59
1994	54	48
1993	72	64
1992	62	57
1991	59	56
1990	59	56
1989	62	60
1988	60	55
1987	77	72
1986	72	68
1985	61	58
1984	60	58
1983	61	55
1982	77	73
1981	76	70
1980	85	78
1979	75	71
1978	89	79
1977	71	66
1976	94	80
1975	117	105

Note: a count of 1 or 2 is written "1 or 2". A death is in FARS when it occurs in 30 days or less after the crash.

Rate for each 100,000 residents

Table 3.Milwaukee County beside Wisconsin and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Milwaukee County	Wisconsin	United States
2024	10.1	10.0	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	9.2	10.2	11.8

Note: the rate divides the deaths in the county by its residents. Persons who do not live in the county are in the deaths, not in the residents.

Population: Census Bureau estimates, vintage 2025. Milwaukee County had 924,323 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Milwaukee County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Wisconsin
A driver recorded as drinkingof 780 fatal crashes	178	780 fatal crashes	22.8%	33.4%
A speeding-related driverof 780 fatal crashes	361	780 fatal crashes	46.3%	31.0%
No restraint usedof 398 occupant deaths with restraint use known	266	398 occupant deathswith restraint use known	66.8%	49.1%
Pedestriansof 861 deaths	195	861 deaths	22.6%	9.5%
Bicyclistsof 861 deaths	22	861 deaths	2.6%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 861 deaths	103	861 deaths	12.0%	15.8%
On a rural roadof 774 fatal crashes with the condition reported	3	774 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	0.4%	62.5%
In the darkof 779 fatal crashes with the condition reported	447	779 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	57.4%	41.7%

Note: FARS records a driver as drinking when police reported alcohol involvement or a test of the driver was positive for alcohol. It is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure, which uses a blood alcohol concentration of .08 g/dL or higher. One crash can be in two or more rows. NHTSA's definitions

Note that alcohol data is often missing. For that reason, this data element may under-count the actual number of drinking drivers.

NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

Weekday, time and road class

Table 5.Milwaukee County: fatal crashes by weekday and time of day, 2015 to 2024
Weekday	Midnight to 6 a.m.	6 a.m. to noon	Noon to 6 p.m.	6 p.m. to midnight	All
Sunday	44	16	27	49	136
Monday	20	16	24	31	91
Tuesday	18	19	29	27	93
Wednesday	24	18	21	29	92
Thursday	22	17	29	37	105
Friday	35	17	23	49	124
Saturday	40	22	28	48	138
All days	203	125	181	270	779

Note: a cell with a stronger shade has a larger count. The table has the fatal crashes with a known hour and weekday.

Table 6.Milwaukee County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Wisconsin
Interstate	62	8.0%	7.6%
Other freeways and expressways	6	0.8%	2.3%
Other principal arterial	310	40.1%	29.4%
Minor arterial	276	35.7%	22.7%
Major collector	23	3.0%	17.2%
Minor collector	24	3.1%	6.2%
Local	73	9.4%	14.6%
Not reported	6	n/a	n/a

Note: the classes are those of the Federal Highway Administration. The shares are of the crashes with a reported class. Road function classes

Light condition and weather

Table 7.Milwaukee County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	304
Dark, not lighted	21
Dark, lighted	423
Dawn	15
Dusk	13
Dark, lighting unknown	3
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Milwaukee County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	494
Cloudy	212
Rain	57
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	11
Fog, smog or smoke	4
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Milwaukee County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Milwaukee	In all of Wisconsin
Interstate 41	Interstate	19	95
Interstate 43	Interstate	20	83
Interstate 94	Interstate	16	111
State Route 32	State highway	8	76
State Route 57	State highway	18	42
State Route 59	State highway	8	30
State Route 100	State highway	26	26
State Route 145	State highway	40	40
State Route 175	State highway	19	29
State Route 181	State highway	20	23
State Route 190	State highway	30	38
US Route 18	US highway	12	43
US Route 41	US highway	4	31
US Route 45	US highway	3	65

Note: the table has each route with a page that has a fatal crash in the county, in name order. Local streets and county roads have no page. Their crashes are in the county totals. All routes in Wisconsin

Adjacent counties

These lists are for navigation. They are in name order.

Figure 3.Milwaukee County on the county map of Wisconsin

Deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year, 2015 to 2024

Fewer than 1018 counties
10 to 14.922 counties
15 to 19.916 counties
20 to 29.914 counties
30 or more2 counties
Milwaukee County: 9.2

The limits of the classes are the same for every state. A county with few residents can show a high rate from few deaths. A class is not a judgement of a county. The full map and the table of counties of Wisconsin

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Milwaukee County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Muskegon County	Michigan	21	203	11.6
Ottawa County	Michigan	17	210	7.1
Ozaukee County	Wisconsin	1 or 2	54	5.9
Racine County	Wisconsin	14	171	8.7
Waukesha County	Wisconsin	20	207	5.1

Source of the list: Census Bureau county adjacency file, 2026 edition.

Counties of similar population

These counties of Wisconsin have a population nearest to that of Milwaukee County. The list is for navigation and is in name order. The number is the deaths from 2015 to 2024.

Official channels

NHTSA Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST)NHTSA's query tool for FARS counts.
NHTSA FARS EncyclopediaNHTSA's tables of FARS data.
Governors Highway Safety Association: State Highway Safety OfficesThe list of the highway safety offices of the states.

These links go to the sites of the agencies. They were checked on 2 Oct 2026.

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Milwaukee County, Wisconsin: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/wi/milwaukee/. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, FARS 2024 annual file. Data to 31 Dec 2024.

The address of this page does not change.

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Source of the figures

Counts: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, national files of 1975 to 2024. The factors use the vehicle and person files from 2015. Residents: Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, vintage 2025. Map: Census Bureau cartographic boundary file, 2021 edition. Data to 31 Dec 2024. The figures are totals. No page of this site is about one crash or one person.

How the figures are made. Data sources and licences. Corrections.

Questions

How many deaths did FARS record in Milwaukee in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 557 deaths in Milwaukee County from 2005 to 2014. It records 861 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Milwaukee in 2024?

The rate of Milwaukee County in 2024 was 10.1 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Wisconsin was 10.0. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

How many fatal crashes in Milwaukee had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 178 of 780 fatal crashes from 2015 to 2024. This count is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure. NHTSA says that alcohol data is often missing, so the count may be too low.

How many fatal crashes did FARS record on signed routes in Milwaukee?

14 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 243 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.